The present disclosure relates to the field of cooling devices, and in particular to a cold plate assembly for an electrical cabinet.
With the development of power electronic technology, the power of electronic devices is increasingly higher, and the volumes thereof become increasingly smaller. In order to efficiently cool the power electronic devices in electrical cabinets, the application of a heat dissipation mode utilizing a liquid cooling medium and a cold plate is becoming more common.
As shown in FIG. 1, an existing power electronic device is typically mounted on a cold plate 13 made of copper. In a liquid cooling mode, heat generated by the power electronic device is transferred from a bottom of the substrate, through the cold plate 13, and to a liquid cooling medium flowing through a channel in the cold plate 13. The liquid cooling medium is cooled again by a heat exchanger or the like external to the cold plate 13. Unfortunately, the cold plate 13 is made of copper, and thus the cost is relatively high. In addition, most existing power electronic devices have size requirements, which may increase costs of the cold plate 13. For example, the power electronic device may include an IGBT 11 (e.g., Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) mounted to the cold plate 13 by a fastener 12 and a silicon controlled rectifier element 14 mounted on the cold plate 13 by a fastener 15. In cases where the number of power electronic devices to be installed is relative large, the mounting surface of the cold plate 13 is also relatively large, such that an overall height of the electronic devices is relatively small. Because the cold plate 13 is made of copper, reducing the height of the electronic devices is relatively difficult and may result in a finished product having reduced efficiency.
As shown in FIG. 2, another existing cooling system includes a channel for the inflow, circulation, and outflow of a liquid cooling medium. For example, a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet are positioned on a cold plate 21, where a substrate of a power electronic device 24 is mounted. A sealing ring 22 is utilized to form a seal between the cold plate 21 and the power electronic device 24. The liquid cooling medium flows proximate to a bottom of the substrate of the power electronic device 24 through the channel, the liquid outlet, and the liquid inlet of the cold plate 21, thereby directly contacting the bottom of the substrate to remove heat generated by the power electronic device 24. In some embodiments, the power electronic device 24 is mounted to the cold plate 21 through a bolt 23. Further, the liquid cooling medium may be cooled by the heat exchanger or the like external to the cold plate 21. The illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2 includes increased heat exchange performance when compared to the embodiment of FIG. 1 because the cold plate 21 can be made of a relatively inexpensive material, thereby reducing the cost of the cold plate 21. However, the cold plate 21 having the structure of FIG. 2 is not suitable for the power electronic device 24 in which the bottom of the substrate is not a sealed structure.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a cold plate assembly for an electrical cabinet to at least partially solve the above problems.